Sotto, the Downtown Italian restaurant from the Boca group, has opened at 114 E. 6th St., Downtown.

Sotto occupies the downstairs level of the former Maisonette building, which was once La Normandie. Boca, the Oakley fine-dining Italian restaurant, will be opening later in the upstairs. Sotto features wood-cooked food, rustic Italian classics, pastas and Florentine steak in a casual, convivial atmosphere.

It is open Monday-Thursday from 5-11 p.m., and on Fridays and Saturdays from 5 p.m.-midnight.

Chandler’s at the Beehive:

The buildings along the small Augusta waterfront are all historic; nothing mars the illusion. One of those buildings is the 1795 riverfront building that held The Beehive Tavern for many years. It closed in 2011, depriving visitors of the chance to walk into one of those historic buildings and further the time travel.

Now there’s a restaurant in the building again. It’s called Chandler’s at the Beehive, owned by Chan Warner, who owns Chandler’s in Maysville, and run by Melissa Manley. They don’t have an ambitious menu, particularly: steaks and prime rib, fish for dinner; quiche and soup and salad for lunch, frequent specials. The black bean soup from former owner Sean Morial is still on the menu, with homemade bread and Manley’s homemade desserts, which include the very Kentucky choices of hickory pie, transparent pie and cobblers.

“We focus on freshness and deliciousness with high concern of customers’ health,” said Mango Tree co-owner Nick Kongdech, of Hyde Park. “We prepare our food right just like what we would do at home, so sometimes it might take slightly longer.”

Kongdech said he and co-owners Nui Saeton, of Hyde Park, and Suwapat Thanarattanapisuth, of Mariemont, who also is a chef, managed a few successful restaurants in Hyde Park. But they decided to open Mango Tree at the end of February in Columbia Township near Mariemont because “it’s beautiful, tranquil and people are very nice,” Kongdech said.

“We feel privileged and we want to make Columbia Township and Mariemont proud to have us here.”

Hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and noon to 9 p.m. Sundays. Carryout is available at 271-0809.

Lucy Blue Pizza:

Lucy Blue Pizza is opening a new location on Main Street. It’s at 1126 Main St., in the former space of The Lab. That’s in the center of the late-night, bar-hopping (and, more and more, residential) neighborhood that has been served by the Lucy Blue pizza window and restaurant on Walnut.

This location will be much larger than the Walnut Street store, or the Lucy Blues in Downtown, Mainstrasse and Mount Lookout. It will also have wine and beer, a more extensive menu, more salads, more vegetarian choices, and sandwiches such as meatball subs and chicken Parmigiana. Thompson said he plans to offer unique wines such as Sicilian and Spanish choices, at a reasonable price. There will be a pizza buffet at lunch time.

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He is not closing on Walnut Street. He’ll keep the pizza window open there, and may eventually turn the space into a different kind of restaurant.

The restaurant will offer a daily special. In addition to different salads, diners can also choose from staples like hamburgers, hot dogs, Philly cheese steaks and chicken. They’ll also serve breakfast all day and will try to give everyone “any food they want.”

“We’re trying to make it as friendly as we can for the local people,” Nelson said.

U.S. Diner also works with fresh, not frozen meat, he said. The restaurant is open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday.

“I was just tired of fast food,” Nelson said. “It was a good place to do it.”

Reds Hall of Fame Grille:

Two of the most popular things about summer around here – The Reds and Kings Island – have teamed up for a new restaurant called the Reds Hall of Fame Grille.

It is a Reds-themed restaurant at Kings Island, with Hall of Fame memorabilia, framed jerseys and photos, and other bits of history of the Reds, dating back to the 1880s.

Video highlights from World Series, playoffs and other games will play on TVs through the restaurant.

There will be a new patio overlooking a spectacular view of Diamondback roller coaster. The grille will be ready when Kings Island opens for the 2013 season April 27.

Wurst Bar in the Square:

Wurst Bar in the Square, a gastropub specializing in beer and homemade local sausages, is now open in Mount Lookout.

Chef Ryan Terry, who was previously with Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse Belterra and The Chart House, designed the menu, which includes Portuguese Linguica, a cured pork sausage topped with olive roasted garlic tapenade and Dijon mustard; and The Roonie, a chicken-garlic-truffle sausage with fried onion and Boursin cheese. For vegetarians, there’s the Yukon Cornelius, an apple sausage filled with Yukon Gold potatoes and sage, topped with spicy sweet mustard. Beers and signature cocktails will also be served.

Wurst Bar is open for lunch and dinner. It seats 50; a patio will accommodate 25 more during warmer weather.

Kitchen hours are 11 a.m.-11 p.m.; the bar stays open until 1:30 a.m.

3204 Linwood Ave., Mount Lookout. 513-321-0615.

Yard House:

The Yard House, the newest restaurant at The Banks, opened March 24. With 160 beer taps and an extensive menu of American fusion cuisine, it serves lunch, dinner and late-night snacks.

It’s a huge space, with seating for 514 inside and another 199 on a nice outdoor patio, with views of Paul Brown Stadium and the Roebling Bridge. A keg room runs the length of the building; beers flow from those kegs, through silver tubes on the ceiling and to the center bar’s taps. It’s a cool setup, and it adds to the contemporary feel of the space, which has dark wood tables and chairs and abstract murals.

A new restaurant will become part of a developing arts district in Middletown centered around the BeauVerre Riordan stained glass studio on Central Avenue. It’s called Stained 1054 Bistro, after the wealth of stained glass in its dining room, and is slated to open April 1. It’s the second restaurant for Mark Bursley, the owner of The Red Onion in Monroe. “It’s a collaboration of art glass with the culinary arts,” Bursley said, who added that he was reluctant to open in Middletown until he saw the space.

Joe Moorman, the owner of BeauVerre Riordan, rehabilitated the building at 1054 Central Ave. in downtown Middletown, using salvaged wood and stained glass from a variety of old structures. The bar is made from wood from an old pipe organ, the floors from reclaimed church pews. Stained glass is everywhere.